Richard is the newly-elected chairman of the NFU national livestock board and farms cattle and sheep in the North York Moors National Park, as well as being a director of a cooperative marketing over 40,000 lambs annually.
He updated the board on the latest news about the Livestock Information Programme (this will replace a number of existing livestock databases including ARAMS, BCMS etc) and the latest Westminster debate on live exports (Richard explained that many MPs still thought this was all about veal calves).
Interestingly, in the context of future trade deals post-Brexit, about 20,000 live lambs are exported from the UK into mainland Europe each year and live exports are not subject to tariffs. Richard gave a detailed update on the NFU work to expose deadweight selling practices looking at full transparency on the terms and conditions abattoirs apply at slaughter – in short how they make deductions on specification. This work has even revealed that one processor was charging producers the processor AHDB levy as well as the farmer levy!
Christine Watts is the chief communications and market development officer at AHDB and leads a team delivering everything from digital marketing, international and domestic marketing, international market development, corporate affairs and retail and foodservice engagement – plus much more.
Attendees heard about the latest consumer-focused campaigns to promote beef and lamb within the UK. These are aimed at a core target market of 18 to 35 year olds and focus on healthy eating and quick meals – for example cooking with thin cuts of beef. Lifestyle magazines such as Mens Health, Coach and Health & Fitness are a key vehicle for messaging as well as carefully targeted social media advertising and use of “trend influencers” – celebrities and bloggers who cause a spike in demand if they are seen to be using a particular product.
The board responded with some robust questions about the activity levy payer money is spent on (principally, market development and promotion vs knowledge exchange and advice to producers), whether enough efforts are being made to access new markets and if AHDB activity would be strengthened if levy payers had more say over setting of targets and decision making.
The meeting also looked at the NFU response to Defra's Health and Harmony consultation, reminded producers of the importance of ticking the declaration box for West Country Beef & Lamb and heard from British Wool Marketing Board representative Alan Marshall about the newly introduced New Entrants scheme which will see new wool producers paid an upfront price for wool sales to help with cash flow management.
Finally, the board were pleased and surprised to see Gloucestershire livestock rep David Barton at the meeting, having gotten married two days before the meeting – stopping in at Exeter along with his wife Churri on their way to a honeymoon on Dartmoor.
And as if that wasn’t enough celebration, board chairman Colin Rowland tried his best to keep it a secret that the meeting took place on his sixtieth birthday!